There’s never a time during the year when a homeowner wants to be without their HVAC system. Spring is becoming warmer sooner, and summer lasts longer into the fall, with winter’s chill setting in faster than anticipated.
In either situation, extreme temperatures make it, so the unit needs to be virtually fail-proof for the safety and well-being of those living in the house.
That means investing in preventive maintenance with an efficient, well-qualified heating and cooling repair contractor; check here for details on a reliable example. The right company will ensure defects are corrected before they can turn into significant problems that can impact a budget substantially.
Despite taking precautionary measures plus employing home care and upkeep, it’s not unheard of for HVAC equipment to still malfunction or even shut down at the worst possible moment.
When using the equipment and employing home maintenance, it’s crucial to attempt troubleshooting potential problems between the professional service calls.
You could save time and money by catching a potential issue before it worsens. Find maintenance tips for your air conditioner at https://www.thisoldhouse.com/heating-cooling/21017467/air-conditioner-maintenance-tips/ and then review some troubleshooting guidelines below to keep you ahead of a malfunction.
What Are HVAC Troubleshooting Tips To Avoid Possible System Malfunctions
It’s suggested that homeowners employ care and upkeep of their HVAC system, plus employ the services of a reputable, well-qualified heating and cooling repair contractor to prevent the potential for malfunction or failure of the system at the worst possible times.
Winters and summers extend during the year, with fall and spring being mere brief periods lately. That means homeowners are exposed to extreme temperatures longer and must use the furnace and air conditioning more frequently.
It’s vital for overall safety and well-being that the equipment remains functional without problems. That means the homeowner should be responsible between professional service calls to troubleshoot the system for possible defects to be corrected by the repair contractor.
What simple things can a homeowner do to keep the equipment functional throughout the service period? Let’s review.
Check the thermostat
A primary piece of equipment with heating and cooling is the thermostat. Without this component, the furnace and air conditioning won’t function. It must be in optimum functionality. Often professionals find this to be the issue when answering service calls. It can be a reason the unit will not turn on or do so at the wrong time.
You’ll always ensure power to the thermostat, which could mean changing out batteries if that’s how it’s powered. This should be done even if you believe the batteries are good.
Another issue could be temperature settings if someone in the home moved these, or maybe it automatically reset or even accidentally. These will just need to be readjusted to get them back to where they belong and try to determine how they might have reset.
Place a new air filter for the AC or the furnace
There is a bit of debate on this one. When the HVAC system doesn’t seem to be functioning at full capacity, perhaps the vents are releasing humid or dusty air, and the air filters might need changing out.
That’s where the debate lies. Primarily, the consensus is that homeowners need to keep watch on these so they can be changed adequately but to do so at least every 30 days.
A dirty filter clogged with particles, dust, debris, and dirt will decrease the air quality and cause the system to function inefficiently, with the vents producing limited airflow.
Some professionals believe it’s better if the repair contractor replaces the filter during preventive maintenance. However, that leaves a homeowner at the mercy of only changing it once or twice a year, not nearly enough according to most literature.
When working with your system, it’s wise to check it each month to see the degree to which it’s clogged and change it when there’s insufficient flow.
Obstacles blocking vents
If the air is not circulating consistently throughout your home, it’s wise to look at the vents in each room. Look to see if there are obstructions over any of the vents, or perhaps some of them have been accidentally closed off.
You’ll need to go from room to room looking at each one for possible particles or objects that might have gotten lodged in the vent or to ensure that nothing is covering the element like furniture, drapes, and clutter.
Anything keeping the air from flowing freely will need to be cleared from the vent, including moving rugs or other blocks to a different location or cleaning the debris and freeing potentially lodged obstacles.
Final Thought
One of the priorities when troubleshooting an HVAC, heating and cooling system is to know when it’s time to call in a quality repair contractor. HVAC equipment is intricate, making it essential that homeowners avoid complex fixes unless they’re versed in heating and cooling repairs.
When attempting to make corrections without adequate knowledge, it’s possible to do more harm than good, ultimately causing much more damage and creating a significantly higher repair cost.
When troubleshooting, if you don’t know or get a general idea that it’s something an expert needs to handle, contact your provider to come for a service call. The provider will diagnose what could be a simple fix and make the necessary corrections with a reasonable bill and no voided warranties.
